


Harry Potter and the Gauntlet of Gryffindor

by Persephone Jane (Persephone_Jane)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:34:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26501467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persephone_Jane/pseuds/Persephone%20Jane
Summary: It is years after the Great War, and Harry finds himself back at Hogwarts, ready to face whatever comes next.
Relationships: Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Hannah Abbott/Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Kudos: 3





	Harry Potter and the Gauntlet of Gryffindor

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction, so please be kind. While I have added or altered things to fit the story, most people and events in this are true to the post-war Potterverse. This is entirely written as a labor of love for my own enjoyment, and not to capitalize on characters I have no claim to. I hope you like it!

Harry Potter sat back in the seat as he watched the familiar landscape slide by out the window of the Hogwarts Express. It had been seven years since he had last ridden this train, yet he almost felt like he was a schoolboy again, anxious and excited for the start of another year.  
A gentle cough came from beside him, and a sleeping Ginny shifted so her head was resting on Harry’s shoulder. He smiled and carefully kissed the top of her red hair, not wanting to wake her. In the last month or so she had been exhausted almost constantly, the effort of growing a human being, and having to carry around the weight, sometimes too much for her small frame. 34 weeks along, she looked as if she were ready to give birth any minute. Her robes, worn over a white lace summer dress, were draped to either side of her stomach, not being able to cover it even when she stood.  
Harry felt warm and happy thinking about the family the two of them were starting, the family he had always wanted but never had as a child. He would be the kind of father he had always believed James would have been, he thought, strong and supportive, yet understanding and full of humor. He opened the book he had in his lap; part journal, part calendar, he kept everything he wanted to remember inside the well-marked and dog eared pages. In the front cover lay an old picture he had received from his godfather, many years ago. It showed a young couple, smiling and waving with a black-haired baby boy between them, laughing and bouncing on his father’s arm. This was one of the few photographs he had of his parents, and one of the things he held most dear. He couldn’t help but notice the striking resemblance between his parents then and Harry and Ginny now: he was the striking image of his father, with the same boyish grin and messy black hair, and Ginny had the same fiery red tresses and slight build as Lily. What would their child look like? Harry wondered as he put the photograph away. He didn’t even know if the baby was a boy or a girl; as this was their first, Harry and Ginny wanted it to be a surprise. Molly Weasley complained that she wouldn’t know what to knit if she didn’t know the gender, even going so far as to beg the mediwitch to tell her, but finally resigned to knitting maroon jumpers and booties.  
“It’s close enough to red if it’s a boy, and close enough to pink if it’s a girl,” she had said the last time the two of them had gone to the Burrow for dinner. Ron had loudly complained about the color, claiming it gave him terrible flashbacks of Christmases past.  
Harry looked up at the sound of the compartment door sliding open.  
“Anything from the trolley, dears?” A familiar witch leaned in, speaking softly. Harry smiled, happy that not everything had changed in the time he was away, and started to shake his head ‘no.’ He stopped, however, as Ginny’s head lifted suddenly from his shoulder.  
“Oh, thank goodness, I’m starved!” she said, causing Harry to laugh. They had almost been late to the train because Ginny had followed her nose to a Muggle shop and insisted on buying a giant soft pretzel covered in melted butter and salt, even after the two of them had had one last breakfast with Ginny’s mother before heading to the train station. For a tiny woman, she had quite the appetite.  
Ginny bought three chocolate frogs, a bag of cinnamon crisps, and a mug of pumpkin juice before thanking the older witch and closing the door. Harry reached for a chocolate frog and got a quick slap to the wrist as Ginny moved her purchases to the other side of her lap, away from her husband.  
“If you had wanted some, you should have gotten your own.” Ginny had a playful glint in her eye, and stared straight at Harry as she bit a leg off of one of the frogs. A smear of chocolate was left on her upper lip, right above the corner of her mouth. Harry felt his chest tighten at the sight. He smiled at her and slowly leaned in to kiss it away, opening his mouth just enough to capture what the confection had left behind.  
Ginny sighed and closed her eyes, leaning in as Harry was leaning back, trying to keep the contact a little longer. With a grin, Harry leaned past her to slowly lower the privacy shade on the compartment door window. There were a lot of things he had done on this train, Harry thought, but there was certainly one thing he hadn’t…  
The moment was broken, however, when the door flew open again and three giggling first-year girls fell into the compartment. Harry raised an eyebrow, his arm around his wife’s waist, and the girls froze in shock and embarrassment.  
“Oh! I’m so sorry!” the tallest girl managed to breathe out as she tried to shove her companions behind her. “I think we’re in the wrong car!” The two girls started whispering frantically and one tried to discreetly point at Harry’s forehead.  
Harry sighed and smiled, trying to look like the friendly yet stern professor he was trying to become, and assured the girls that it was an easy mistake to make, but would they mind heading back to their own compartment, as, he could tell from the fading sunlight, they should be arriving at Hogwarts any minute.  
As the tallest girl was closing the door with flushed cheeks and an apologetic smile, Harry called out. “Oh, by the way, enjoy your boat ride across the lake, and please don’t be startled by Hagrid. He’s really just a giant softy.”  
She paused slightly, looking confused, but then closed the door the rest of the way, and Harry heard their hushed, excited whispers recede down the hallway.  
Ginny sighed. “I was thinking about how nice it would be to make love to you on this train, but I would hate my first impression on your students to be me naked and looking like a whale.”  
Harry laughed and kissed her chastely on the cheek before sitting back on the seat once more. He frowned slightly at the thought of the girls pointing at his scar; he had long grown used to attention, but as he grew older he wanted to distance himself as much as he could from the image he had worn as a boy… The Child Who Lived, the Savior, THE Harry Potter. That was why he was here, on this train, heading back to the first place he had ever thought of as home. 

After Harry had finished school he had followed Ron to start auror training. It appeared the obvious thing to do, as his only experiences in life seemed to be trying to stop bad people from doing bad things. He wasn't terrible at it, either, and gained a reputation for himself as someone who was both level-headed and fair, not quick to jump to conclusions but not one to back down. After staring death in the face and defeating his own all-too-real boogeyman, not much could faze him.  
The problem, however, was notoriety. Crime scenes he worked on suddenly became a sea of reporters and lookie-loos, not because of the crime, but because of who was investigating. Articles focused more on what he was wearing than what he was solving, and, despite peers asking for his opinion, none wanted to be his partner except those looking for their fifteen minutes. Eventually Head Auror Robards stopped giving him field assignments altogether, and Harry was relegated to paper pushing. After six months of gritting his teeth, he felt he was going to break down. His dream job had become a monotonous brainsuck, not even exciting enough to be called a nightmare. He had to get out of there.  
Confiding his frustrations in his fellow Gryffindor, Neville Longbottom, he found the answer to his career slump.  
Neville had started out as an auror, too, but found it hard to fit in in a field full of extroverts and people with far more self-confidence than he could ever dream of. Instead, he followed his true talent with plants and became the Herbology professor at Hogwarts. Now, having grown into both his ears and his feet, he had found purpose and happiness helping rebuild the school where it all started, wife Hannah by his side.  
He informed Harry that the Defense Against the Dark Arts position had yet to be permanently filled, and that Headmistress McGonagall would likely need little persuading to offer him the professorship. It took none, in fact, as less than a day after receiving his letter from Neville, an owl arrived at his kitchen window with an invitation for an interview at his alma mater.  
It took minimal convincing to get Ginny on board once Harry’s mind was made up. She had gone into playing professional Quidditch after finishing school, but once she had found out she was pregnant decided to keep her feet more on the ground.  
“I trust my teammates to catch the quaffle, but maybe not a baby if I give birth on the pitch,” she had joked at her going-away party.  
She quickly found work at the Daily Prophet as a quidditch reporter, keeping her near the sport she loved.  
“Imagine all the great articles I could write about the school teams at Hogwarts!” she mused when Harry had suggested the move. 

That had been a mere two weeks before, giving the two of them barely enough time to empty their flat and make arrangements for what was to be sent to the school, and what was to be stored at the Burrow.  
Ron had been sad to see him leave the Ministry, but understood his reasoning. Secretly, he was glad to be out of his best friend's shadow, but felt guilty at the thought. Harry had always gotten the spotlight when they were growing up, and Ron, as one of six boys, had never been the center of attention. He wasn't exactly sure if he could handle it, once he thought about it, without a buffer like Harry to lean on. 

The whistle sounded as the Express pulled into the station below the school. Harry pulled their luggage from the racks above as Ginny placed the wrappers from her food, now all eaten, in the rubbage bin and her mug on the table beside it. The mug disappeared, sent to the service car where it would be washed and stored for the next trip. Harry set their cases on the platform and helped his wife down.  
A booming voice sounded behind him as a house elf popped away with their luggage. "Now there's a sight fer sore eyes, I tell yeh!"  
Harry smiled as he turned around, and was soon crushed in the giant embrace that was Hagrid's arms. He smelled musky, of leather and earth, and even as a grown man Harry's head barely hit the towering game keeper's belly button.  
Harry laughed as he craned his head backwards. "It's good to see you, too, Hagrid. How's Fang?"  
Hagrid's face fell a little as he released Harry and stepped back. "'E had a great long life, my Fang did, but old age takes us all, in th'end, if'n somethin' else doesn' git us firs'."  
Harry felt terrible for asking, hating the look of pain on his friend's face. "I'm so sorry, Hagrid. He was such a great companion." He regretted how little he had kept in touch with the people who were so important to him; life and work always seemed to get in the way.  
"It's alright, 'Arry, Firenze got me a new puppy fer my birthday las' year an' she's really lifted my spirits." Hagrid gave Harry a wide smile and started patting his pockets. "Now where is that dog?"  
A small bark came from Hagrid's collar and a little brown and white head popped up just below the fan of tangled beard.  
"Ah! Bear! There yeh are!" Hagrid said as he pulled the dog out. He held it easily in the palm of his great hand, and the dog sat, looking happily at Harry.  
"It's… it's a Papillon!" Ginny exclaimed, surprised at the tiny dog.  
It was tiny, even by Harry's standards, and looked even smaller sitting in Hagrid's hand, more like a toy than a pet. Two alert ears stuck out from either side of its head, hidden behind cascades of brown and white fur that reached its shoulders. From there it resembled a white mop, slightly dirty from climbing in whatever it was Hagrid kept in his pockets. A patch of long hair at the back wagged back and forth happily, which Harry could only assume was the tail. A slightly crusty but very pink satin bow sat lopsided on the top of its head.  
"This is… Bear?" Harry prompted.  
Hagrid grinned. "She's a bit smaller than Fang was, but she's great comp'ny and don't need much. Keeps me goin'.  
"When you're all settled in up at th' castle, come down ta see me, won'tcha? I just finished a batch'a that vodker stuff Karkaroff told me 'bout, outta potatoes. It's amazing, what ya kin make outta potatoes." Bear disappeared somewhere into Hagrid's beard as the trio walked towards the gates.  
"Oh goodness, I'll pass," said Ginny, rubbing her belly. "I'm not a big fan of watching other people drink what I can't." She laughed and smiled at Hagrid. "You two need a chance to catch up, anyway. I'll probably just turn in early after all of this traveling."  
"Well I guess it's just the two of us!" said Harry, and he clapped his hand on the half-giants elbow.  
A gaggle of first years were bunched together under the stone pillar that held one of the giant iron gates, staring around wildly as they all tried to be as far in the middle as they could. A few stood with their mouths agape as they watched Hagrid approach, and many jumped in surprise as he yelled out "firs' years to me! Aaaall firs' years follow me t'tha boats!"  
He ruffled Harry's messy hair as he left them by the carriages, leading the frightened mass of students down to the dock.

When the carriages arrived at the castle, Harry and Ginny's broke off to take them to the right, away from the arriving students. Neville and Hannah met them at a door behind the Great Hall, hugging and shaking hands in greeting as they laughed and spoke of how great it was to see each other. Hannah cooed over Ginny's baby bump, and took her elbow as she led her inside.  
Neville and Harry followed behind.  
"Your things have been put into your quarters, but they're still in boxes. Minerva wasn't sure if she should have the house elves unpack for you or not, since she didn't know if you wanted to stay on the grounds or if you were getting a place in town. It's up to you, really. Hannah and I live here in the castle, but then we both work here so it's more convenient. Hooch, the Vectors, and the Malfoys all have cottages in town, as some have little ones who attend primary."  
Harry stopped short. "The Malfoys? Which Malfoys?"  
Neville avoided making eye contact as he turned to let Harry catch up. "Didn't I mention Slughorn's retirement? We needed a new Potion's Master, and Minerva felt he was up to the job. He and Astoria moved into Hogsmeade two months ago to settle in with Scorpius. They were living in Muggle London for a few years after the war."  
Harry shook his head as they walked. It seemed like ages since he had last seen Draco, walking out of the Ministry after testifying on his and his mother's behalf. There had never been any love lost between the two of them, but he had stood in their favor during the trial. Draco had saved his life, in the chaos that was the final days of the Great War. As much as he disliked him, he couldn't deny it. Harry had felt his testimony had made them even, in a way, and hadn't thought about him since. Well, hadn't thought about him much, he amended himself. There were times he found himself wondering what had happened to the fair-haired boy who had tormented his youth. He had once thought he had hated Malfoy, but as time passed he found it had changed to pity. Pity, and, with new knowledge of his upbringing, understanding. Given his family and circumstances, who would have done much different?  
The two men walked silently as they entered the Great Hall from a small antichamber on the left. Minerva was already greeting Ginny with a warm smile, clutching both of her hands in a gesture of welcome. She looked over Ginny's head and smiled again for Harry.  
"Harry! I'm so glad you made it alright. Everyone is so excited to have you here, and I know Bill will be glad to pass the torch on to you, as it were. The poor man had to step into the role of teacher last term when Wormworth ran off to chase vampires, ridiculous thing. I do hope you'll be more apt to stay than your predecessors?" Headmistress McGonagall raised an eyebrow at him in a kind manner, reaching one hand out to him as she kept hold of Ginny with her other.  
Harry laughed, having heard from Ron that his older brother had had to step in the previous year. Bill was on loan to Hogwarts from Gringotts, as he was one of the best curse-breakers they had. Rebuilding a magical castle could be tricky, especially one as old as Hogwarts, since a lot of the records of the spells used to build it over the years had been lost. An unlucky art restorer had found himself inside Sir Cadogan's painting when he tried to remove it from the wall, not knowing an anti-theft spell had been placed on the frame. He had been chased up two floors and down a corridor to hide behind a haystack in a painting of cattle before Bill had managed to extricate him.  
Small talk ensued as they were led up the stairs to the head table, sitting down a short way from Minerva's seat and directly in front of the Gryffindor table. Neville sat to Harry's right, and Ginny began to talk animatedly to Professor Flitwick, who sat to her left. The hall was filled with noise as the returning students talked and laughed about their summer holidays.  
Hagrid snuck in through the large doors at the head of the Great Hall, as well as an enormous man could sneak, and gave Harry a quick wink and a nod as he sat at the far end of the table. Minerva stood and the room quickly went quiet.  
She welcomed everyone to the start of a new year to thunderous applause, then called for the first years to enter for the sorting ceremony.  
Filch brought forth the worn, tattered hat with its wooden stool and placed it in the center of the room, directly in front of the head table. As he stepped away, the brim opened along a long tear in the side, and began to sing:

I welcome you, dear lad and lass,  
To the start of another year,  
And if you may just humor me,  
I long to bend your ear.

I tell the tale of years gone past,  
And those that yet to come,  
Of heartbreaks long forgotten,  
Of those that've just begun.

We all know tales of Slytherin,  
Whose cunning was unmatched,  
Who valued those who had pure blood  
And so became outcast.

But that isn't all his story,  
Of his losses and his strife,  
For every man has weaknesses,  
But also strengths in life.

Dear Salazar had few he loved  
But those he did he cherished,  
And did his best to keep them safe  
Beyond the hour he perished.

His snakewood wand he left behind  
And a Slytherin did stake it  
To grow a tree with leaves to heal  
All those who would partake it.

But history has been more kind  
To some as it has to others,  
And now we turn to tell a tale  
Of daughters and of mothers.

Fair Ravenclaw, so wise and true,  
Had intelligence to spare  
And a beautiful fine diadem  
She wore upon her hair.

But so focused on her wisdom  
And pursuit of higher learning,  
She gave no thought to Helena,  
Who love from her was yearning.

And in a rage of deep despair,  
Without a word of warning,  
Stole the crown in dead of night  
And was gone before the morning.

So shamed was our dear Ravenclaw  
That not a soul did learn  
Of the treachery of Helena,  
Or how the wound still burned.

So, known only for her grace and wit  
She bravely played her part,  
But she soon succumbed to sorrow,  
And died of a broken heart.

Young and pretty Hufflepuff  
Was kind and just and merry,  
And when someone was in need of help,  
T’was she who would not tarry. 

She rescued from an evil fate  
Those house-elves who were frightened  
To bring them to the castle grounds  
To people more enlightened.

She welcomed those who did not fit  
In the houses of the others  
She made the students feel as though  
They were sisters, and were brothers.

Despite her warmth, her light, her love,  
T’was a secret she was hiding  
Of a past that would long haunt her,  
And in the darkness biding.

For in her youth she had not been  
So patient, or forgiving  
And the consequences of her choice  
Found her brother, she outliving.

For Gryffindor, our final tale,  
Who seemed so strong and daring,  
He was renowned for bravery,  
And school for all was swearing.

But patience, was not known to have,  
And tactless in the dealing  
And instead of listening to his friend  
Did a damage most unhealing.

For Gryffindor and Slytherin  
Were childhood friends forever  
But when Godric failed to understand,  
That friendship became severed.

So proud were both, the two of them,  
The lion and the snake,  
That in their quarrel neither knew  
The horror their fight would make.

One choice, one fight, one heated word  
Has been passed down generations  
And felt beyond these ancient walls  
To every land and nation

A thousand years it took, and more  
For their fighting to be mended  
It took the lives of many souls,  
Some family lines left ended.

Now, my song is not to burden you,  
Or lead your heart to sorrow  
But a lesson for us all to learn  
To lead to light tomorrow

For no one man is just one thing,  
We all have parts that make us,  
The good, the bad, the inbetween  
To bind us or to break us.

Divided yes, we are today,  
In four rows, in four colors  
But in each other we must hold  
A love for one another.

A wise man said, unite, we stand  
Divide and we shall falter,  
And so I beg you as I sit  
On this simple wooden altar

Join as one, my loving friends,  
Join hands and stand together  
For only unity will mean  
This school will stand forever. 

There was a smattering of applause as the song came to an end, and Harry could see heads put together in quiet questioning all over the Hall, and not just among the students.  
"Well, that was odd," said Ginny.  
McGonagall stood again, and walked around the table to stand beside the sorting hat. The hall quieted down again as all eyes turned to the Headmistress. Lifting it by the point, she beckoned forward the first new student, "Grayson Appleton!"  
"Ravenclaw!"  
The sorting continued as students were separated into houses, each table applauding their new additions.  
Harry noted the tall girl from the train, a Harriet Tipper, as she was sorted into Gryffindor.  
Before long all the new students had been sorted, and each house was merrily welcoming its new members. Food appeared, and both Harry and Ginny had a great time catching up with everyone around them. Bill and Fluer appeared, with a shy Victiore hiding in her mother’s robes. They had been clearing out Harry’s new offices, they explained, but wanted to step in and say hello before they left for their cottage in Hogsmeade. Bill and Ginny embraced and were quickly chattering about their brothers’ adventures, Fleur joining in when the topic moved to Molly and Arthur, who were busy raising the rambunctious Teddy and wondering how one boy could be so much more work than six.  
Victiore had crawled under the table to hide behind the gold tablecloth, and Harry was busy folding an origami frog. He placed it on the floor between the chairs and whispered a quiet charm. The paper frog began hopping around, and Victiore giggled happily as she chased it with her hands.  
Every now and then out of the corner of his eye Harry would catch a glimpse of Malfoy, sitting at the far end of the table in front of the Slytherins. Harry wondered if he had been named head of his old house, having found out from Hannah that Neville was head of Gryffindor.  
He thought back to the night he had worn the sorting hat, thirteen years and a lifetime ago. He wondered how his life would have gone had he been sorted into Slytherin, like the hat offered. Would he still have defeated Voldemort? Would he still have been friends with Ron, or married Ginny? How would his experience with Draco be different? Questions to which I could never have the answer, he thought, focusing again on the people around him.

Dinner eventually ended, and the Headmistress dismissed everyone to their dormitories. They said a happy good-bye to Ginny’s brother and his family, and followed the crowd out of the Great Hall. Neville led them along a side corridor on the main floor, where he stopped between a suit of armor and a painting of a woman in a peasant dress, hair wrapped in a cloth, nursing a child.  
He opened a door set back in the wall and let them inside. There was one large room, separated by a row of ornate pillars. On the left, along the wall, was a small kitchenette and a Formica table with three chairs. On the right was a very overstuffed red couch, which looked as though at one point had been velvet, now rubbed smooth. It was facing a stone fireplace, which had been lit and was crackling merrily, and flanked by two plaid armchairs, each with doilies on the arms and back. Just past the fireplace was an open door, which appeared to be the bedroom. Stacks of their labelled boxes were scattered about, those claiming to be for the kitchen by the table, ones marked "books" by the naked shelves along the front wall. The best part of the room, however, was a great picture window opposite the door that perfectly framed the lake with the mountains in the distance. The moon reflected off the water, and the stars were vivid in the inky blue sky.  
"It's not a lot, but it should do until you decide how to decorate. You're more than welcome to rent a cottage in town, if you need more space or if you don't want to be cooped up in the castle," Hannah said to Ginny, gesturing with her right hand.  
"Oh it's wonderful!" proclaimed Ginny, rushing to the window.  
She stopped for a moment, then said slowly, "We're on the main floor. Won't the students be able to see in? This field is where I used to study with all of my schoolmates, and it was always crowded, especially on weekends. Will I need to buy curtains? I don't even remember seeing windows along the ground floor, now that I think about it… are these new?"  
She had gone from excited to looking harried, but Hannah just laughed as she reassured her. "They're spelled to only go one way. You can see out, and the light can shine in, but from the other side it's just another part of the wall, even if they're open. The only downside is if someone leans against the wall when your window is open, they end up laying on your kitchen floor!"  
The four of them laughed, and Harry had a feeling it had happened before.  
"Tomorrow morning I'll show you to your classroom and office, though I'm sure you know the way yourself. A few things have changed during the rebuild, however, and some corridors are still not yet safe to go through. It's currently snowing in the second floor corridor on the right, for example, and nearly froze Bill solid."

They chatted for a few minutes more, and Ginny offered to find something to drink, but Neville and Hannah politely declined, knowing the two had some settling in to do.  
With one final wave Harry closed the door behind the Longbottoms and turned to face Ginny.  
"So… what do you think?" he asked.  
"I think it's lovely and homey and just perfect for now. Once the baby comes I may want to move to the village, at the very least when they start primary, but this will be a wonderful place for the two of us in the meantime. Plus it means we can eat in the Great Hall and I don't have to cook!" she laughed. Ginny had tried very hard to live up to her mother's standards when it came to cooking, but found she had very little interest. It wasn't that she was terrible, exactly, it was more that she didn't have the patience. Harry had learned long ago to cut every piece of chicken open before biting into it, so as to not end up with a mouth full of raw poultry.  
In the end they mostly lived on take-away and ordering in. In the mornings they ate oatmeal, the kind that needed only a kettle of hot water, or sometimes on weekends Harry would make eggs and canned beans on toast.  
On the positive side of not cooking, they had very few boxes labelled "kitchen." Sharing the work, Harry and Ginny managed to unpack all of their dishes in less than five minutes. One box had been entirely mugs.  
As Harry reached up to put the last mug on the top shelf, white ceramic with a painted golden snitch that whizzed around the surface, Ginny sat down heavily in one of the kitchen chairs, the plastic upholstered seat making an odd crinkling sound. Harry walked over and hugged her head to him, her arms reaching up to hold his forearms. She sighed into his stomach.  
"I'm exhausted. Let's save the rest for tomorrow and go to bed." She looked up at him, her chin resting above his belly button.  
"I can't, I promised to meet Hagrid for a drink at his cabin," Harry answered, apologetically, "but you don't need to wait up for me. I promise I won't be long."  
Ginny pouted. "Well if I’ll be asleep when you come back, give me my goodnight kiss now." She smiled up at him and he leaned down to leave a long, soft kiss on her lips, holding her just under the jaw to let his fingers rest on the back of her neck and his thumb on her cheek. She sighed again, letting her eyes stay shut as Harry pulled away.  
Harry thought about how beautiful she looked, and how lucky he was to have her in his life. While his world had been pulled this way and that, Ginny had kept him grounded. And despite all of his faults, all of his flaws and tempers and frustrations, she still looked at him the same way she did all those years ago, when Harry finally realized how much he loved her.  
Ginny opened her eyes and sat back, still smiling. “Can you at least stay long enough to pull me out of this chair? Between the weight of this belly and the stick of this horrendous plastic seat I don’t think I can manage it on my own.”  
Harry laughed and held her arm as she lifted up, the seat cover again making an odd sound that only old plastic can make.  
She leaned up and kissed his cheek before slouching off tiredly to the bedroom, her hands holding under her belly as she walked.  
“Oh good!” He heard her call after she had walked into the other room, “The bed is made. I was ready to just pass out on the bare mattress if I had to.”  
Harry laughed again and headed for the door. “I’ll try not to be too long! I love you!”  
Her muffled voice came from the bedroom as she had clearly climbed into the bed and all the blankets. “I love you too! Stay out of trouble!”  
He closed the door behind him and walked down the corridor to the entrance hall. No one was around as he walked out the front doors and into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think! Good/bad/whatever!


End file.
